Untold Stories: Joe Medicine Crow, WWII Hero and the Last Crow War Chief
Joe Medicine Crow was a WWII hero and the last Crow war chief.
There are so many inspiring, beautiful stories about the great heroes of American history which are scarcely ever told. One happens on them accidentally—buried in a thick, out-of-print biography, in small print on a museum sign, casually and fleetingly mentioned in an obscure educational video. America cannot return to greatness in the future if we do not truly understand the greatness of our past. That is why I am writing an article series to tell a few of these little-known but moving or illustrative “untold stories” of American greatness. Previous articles in this series have included Aunt Jemima, the former slave who became the first living trademark; Fr. Capodanno, the “Grunt Padre” and Marine hero; how the citizens of Greencastle, PA, saved their fellow black Pennsylvanians from Confederate enslavers; Charity Ferris, unsung heroine of Throgs Neck; the multitalented actor, soldier, and cowboy Tim McCoy; and stories of heroism on Armed Forces Day.
The Crow tribe Plains Indians historically had four requirements, tasks, or “coups” for becoming a war chief. The last man who fulfilled all four requirements to become a Crow war chief was Joe Medicine Crow, who achieved this honor during World War II.
What were these four requirements? History on the Net lists them: “[A warrior] must touch an enemy without killing [him], take an enemy’s weapon, lead a successful war party and survive, and steal an enemy’s horse.” Joe Medicine Crow (Crow name “High Bird”) was an academic, Native American Indian history expert, brave soldier, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Medicine Crow demonstrated many of the best qualities both of his own native tribe and of Americans in general.
Raised by his maternal grandfather Yellowtail, Joe Medicine Crow grew up on the Montana Crow Reservation, engaging in such activities as running laps barefoot in the snow, tracking animals in the woods, and bathing in frozen rivers to make him tough. Also part of his childhood were the stories of the Battle of Little Bighorn, in which subject he later became an acclaimed expert. Joe’s relative White Man Runs Him was among George Armstrong Custer’s Crow scouts at the battle. Joe received stories of the battle straight from the Crow scouts who’d experienced it! Since Joe’s father Leo Medicine Crow had become a war chief in his early 20s, you could say that Joe was from a family of talented warriors.
As disease and other problems seemed to threaten the Crow tribe and their heritage, a Crow chief Plenty Coups offered a solution to Joe: “With education, you can become a white man’s equal; without it, you will be his victim.”
So off Joe Medicine Crow went to college, earning his bachelor’s degree from Oregon’s Linfield College in 1938 and his Master’s in anthropology from the University of Southern California, according to History on the Net. “He was the first person from his tribe to earn a graduate degree, specializing in the effects of European culture on Native Americans. His thesis, ‘The Effects of European Culture Contact upon the Economic, Social, and Religious Life of the Crow Indians’ is the most widely read source on Crow culture.”
But Medicine Crow’s academic career was soon interrupted. Pearl Harbor was attacked in Dec. 1941, and America entered the war. In 1943, Medicine Crow left behind his doctoral studies to enlist in the U.S. Army’s 103rd Infantry. He reportedly explained to the Billings Gazette how his ancestors’ war-like history inspired him: “We were a war-faring people. Naturally, I thought about the famous warriors when I went to Germany. I had a legacy to live up to.” He wore a U.S. Army uniform and helmet but also war paint and an eagle feather underneath, combining the military symbols of both the Crows and the United States. War History Online said that Joe’s role as a scout put him in a great deal of danger.
History on the Net says that Medicine Crow didn’t go into the military or ship overseas with the intention of performing all of the four coups. But that’s exactly what he ended up doing.
His first coup, leading a successful war party and surviving, occurred when he was put in charge of accomplishing a very dangerous mission:
“During an offensive into Germany, Medicine Crow’s commanding officer ordered him to gather a group of men to return to the French side of the border to gather boxes of dynamite that were needed to destroy a German bunker. The hill Medicine Crow and his fellow soldiers would have to climb was covered in land mines and hidden bombs. They would have to avoid the bombs and exploding mortar shells launched by enemy forces. ‘Well Chief,’ his commanding officer told him after giving Medicine Crow his orders. ‘I guess if anybody can get through, you can.’ Under the cover of a smokescreen, Medicine Crow and six of his friends set out. Despite the obstacles in his way, Medicine Crow accomplished his mission without losing a single man.”
For this, he won a Bronze Star.
Medicine Crow went on to fulfill his second and third coup requirements (taking an enemy’s weapon and touching an enemy without killing him) during the same encounter.
“The most notable coup for a Plains Indian to accomplish was to touch an enemy and escape unharmed. While scouting an alley in Germany, Medicine Crow literally ran into a German soldier. He disarmed the soldier, knocking the man to the ground and sending his rifle flying. Medicine Crow kicked the rifle further away as the German soldier reached for it before dropping his weapon and putting his hands around the German’s throat. He was ready to kill the soldier when, in a scared voice, the soldier started yelling ‘Hitler Kaput! Hitler Kaput! Hitler nicht gu[t]!’ meaning ‘Hitler [is] dead! Hitler dead! Hitler no good!’ Medicine Crow felt sorry for the crying German, he let the soldier go despite the objections of his fellow scouts. During this one confrontation, he completed two coups.”
Multiple other accounts of the story say that the German actually cried for his mother. Whatever the German said, it convinced Joe to let him go.
One can debate about the practicality of Medicine Crow’s actions in letting the German soldier go, but he was well on his way to being a Crow war chief. He had one more coup to go, though:
“His company followed a group of SS officers as they rode horses back to a small farm where they were staying for the night. While Medicine Crow had not planned on counting the coup, he had been looking for a chance to capture a horse. He believed it was the best way he could prove he was worthy of his ancestors. Medicine Crow approached his commanding officer with his idea of stealing the officer’s horses. Since it had been decided they would attack the farm at daybreak, Medicine Crow suggested it would be best to remove the horses ahead of the attack to prevent the officers from escaping. After receiving permission, Medicine Crow and one of his friends snuck into the corral. He climbed onto the back of one horse and released a Crow war cry as his friend opened the corral, sending the horses stampeding into the night.”
Medicine Crow only had to steal one horse to become a war chief, but he actually stole 50!
When he went back to America after WWII ended, Joe Medicine Chief related his “war deeds” to his tribe’s elders. The elders told him that he had accomplished the four required tasks and was therefore a Crow war chief. He was the last man to achieve this status.
“In 1948, Medicine Crow was appointed tribal historian and anthropologist. He served as the last living link to the Crow’s pre-reservation way of life and history, and served on historical and educational commissions as well as authoring almost a dozen books on Crow culture.” He was particularly involved in the Little Big Horn College and Battlefield Museum. He also received an Honorary Doctorate and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Joe died at age 102, survived by his children, his life having spanned two centuries and some of the most earth-shaking events in modern world history.
Some moderns—like Elizabeth Warren—try to claim or promote Native American Indian identity merely for political purposes. But Joe Medicine Crow lived out his heritage during WWII in a truly heroic and patriotic way, and thus fully earned the honor of being a Crow war chief.